Businesses often lean toward short-term fixes to address immediate IT challenges, rather than enduring the temporary discomfort of committing to a long-term, future-focused strategy.
Much like throwing more RAM at a speed problem, an immediate solution might not be addressing the underlying issue, writes Grant van der Westhuizen, sales manager: business applications at Braintree.
Balancing Short-Term Needs with Long-Term Vision
While some short-term solutions can provide value, it is essential to ensure that short-term solutions aren’t limiting to future enhancements and are aligned with long-term objectives that remain sustainable over time – this is where foresight becomes key.
Whether it’s implementing a temporary software tool to manage a specific project or task without assessing how it fits into the overall technology stack, or repeatedly rebooting servers to fix downtime instead of diagnosing and resolving the root cause, a quick fix can lead to lasting setbacks or corrective costs down the line.
Striking the right balance between short-term solutions and long-term goals, and being willing to transition to a longer-term approach, even if it involves some initial discomfort, is crucial for sustainable growth.
The Benefits of Future-Proofing
Herein lies the benefits of investing in a platform or ecosystem where scalability, cost-effectiveness over time, sustainability, enhanced integration, improved security and better productivity are tools to future-proof a business. And here, future-proofing does not imply predicting the future, but rather being able to prepare for future changes.
When it comes to software versus non-software related IT projects, research conducted by global management consulting firm, McKinsey, found that across industries, software projects exceeded timelines and cost more, yet these changes brought immense value and adaptability in the long run. This, compared to the lower cost of non-software projects, resulted in minimal long-term benefits.
The biggest hindrance to modernising a business’s technology stack is user acceptance, which is why working with solutions that make it easier for people to accept change is key, something that Microsoft has done well. By creating an ecosystem of familiarity, the user interface remains, despite the changing of a solution or back-end technology.
Managing User Resistance to Change
Future-proofing your business from a technology perspective also does not mean changing everything straight away. What needs to be done is to start driving the right behaviour and the right approach, taking a holistic view and aligning the service offerings and solutions based on where the business is going.
Through the application of foresight planning strategies and advanced technology solutions, businesses can become more agile and better equipped to anticipate future developments.
Next time a business is considering making a piecemeal upgrade, rather consider the benefits of a phased approach where compatibility, scalability, and performance are better suited to what the future of the business might hold.